Gear driven lever action for firearms



Jan. 30, 1968 E. s. VARTANIAN ET AL 3,365,830

GEAR DRIVEN LEVER ACTION FOR FIREARMS Filed March 1, 1966 INVENTORS. EDWIN 5. VARTAN/AN VIKING I COLL/ANDER ATTORNEY of parts, having relatively little friction --between them United States Patent 3,365 830 GEAR DRIVEN LEVERACTION FOR FIREARMS Edwin SJVartanian, North Haven, and Viking I. Colliander, Hamden, Conn.,'assignors to'Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a corporation of Virginia Filed Mai-.1, 1966, Set. No.530,863 16 Claims."(Cl.' 42-16) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to firearms and more particularly to a'lever action firearm having an improved connection between the lever and breech bolt.

In most of thelever actionsin use today, the linkages between the lever and breech bolt of lever actionfirearms are relatively complex-and unwieldly, imposing serious design limitations upon the firearm. For example, the

space requiredin the receiver for the linkages creates a problem in providing suitable clearance for an opening to receive a conventional box magazine. In addition, with such systems, a practical-limit is imposed upon the length of the stroke of the breech bolt, resulting in the fact that some of the longer cartridges cannot be accommodated in those lever actions. Moreover, due tothe complexity -of the linkages, the overallefliciency of the action is low,

they require a large number of parts, and are relatively complicated to assemble and disassemble.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved lever action firearm.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lever action system-for a firearm which is simple in design, relatively inexpensive-to manufacture, and easyto assemble and disassemble. v I Still another object of'this invention is to provide a lever action systemfor a firearm which is so designed that a conventional box magazine may be accommodated without enlarging the receiver.

A further object of thisinvention is to provide a lever action system wherein the force transferred from the lever to the breech bolt-is constant.

-A still furtherobject of this invention is toprovide a lever action'systern'having a relatively small number resulting in a system of high etficiency.

Yetanother. object of this invention is to provide a lever action system for a firearm wherein theleverhas a fixed center of rotation.

. These and other objects of this invention may be realized through the provision of a gear cluster provided between slideable arm means attached to the 'boltand 3,355,830 Patented Jan. 30, 1968 ICC reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment and to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view, partiallyin section, of a firearm incorporating the lever action system of'the pres- .ent invention,

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along the lines 2-2 FIGURE 1; and

. FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the elements of the lever action system positioned in the bolt open position.

Referring generally to the drawings, the firearm includes a receiver 2 having an ejection port 4 and a barrel 6 connected to the forward end thereof. A breech bolt 8 is mounted in the receiver 2 for axial movement between a'breech open position and a breechclosed-position. 'A

pair of slide arms 10 and 12 areattached on opposite sides of the breech bolt 8 through a series of interlocking projections 14 and 16 on the slide arms 10 and 12 and the breech bolt 8 respectively. Each of the slide arms 10 and 12 extend forwardly from the receiver 2 and terminatein movable toothed rack portions 18 and 20 respectively.

A lever .22 is mounted for movement about a fixed pivot 24 and includes a finger gripping -portion 26 anda pair of lever arms 28 and 30 extending upwardly into the receiver 2 on opposite sides thereof. A trigger 32 may be attached to the lever22 in a manner operable to cooperate with a conventional firing mechanism mounted in the-receiver 2. Forthe sake of clarity and to enable a better understandingof the present invention, the firing mechanism has not been shown in the drawing.

A pair of action arms 34 and 36 are mounted for reciprocal movement on opposite sides ofthe receiver 2 immediately below the slide arms 10 and 12. Thereceiver 2 is provided with ridges 38 on opposite sides thereof. The slide arms 10 and 12 and action arms 34 and 36 are contained in a vertical direction between the breech bolt 8 and a mating ridge 38. Each of the action arms 34 and 36 extends forwardly from the receiver 2 and terminates in an enlarged portion 42 having a flat guide surface 44 along its upper portion.

A fixed rack and guide means, indicated generally by 46, is fixedly secured to the outer surface of the barrel 6 forwardly of the receiver 2. The fixed rack and guide surface 46 includes a flat planar portion 48 having its bottom surface vertical and substantially parallel to the axis of thebreech bolt 8. A generally U-shaped support 50 extends downwardly from the flat planar portion 48 with each of the legs 52 and 54 terminating in a bifurcated portion 56. A fixed rack 58 extends between legs 52 and 54 and has its ends attached to the bifurcated portion 56 of each leg 52 and 54 by means of pins 60 and 62. As seen in FIGURE 1, the fixed rack 58 extends generally parallel to the axis of the breech bolt 8 and barrel 6 and has its upper surface toothed.

Two gear clusters 64 and 65 are rotatably mounted at the ends of the action arms 34 and 36 by a suitable pin member extending through the enlarged portions 42. Each of the gear clusters 64 and 65 include a pinion-.66 which operably mesheswith the teeth of the fixed rack '58 and a larger gear 68 extending along the side of the fixed rack 58 and in operable engagement with the teeth at the movable rack portions 18 and 20. As can be .seen in FIGURE 1, the movable rack portions 18 and 20 of the slide arms 10 and 12 are constrained from vertical movement by the gears 68 and the bottom surface of fiat planar portion 48 and from lateral movement by the enlarged portions 42 of the action arms 34 and .36 and vertically extending flnages 70 and 72 projecting'downwardly from surface 48.

The rearward end portion of each of the action arms 34 and 36 includes an enclosed lever ar-m receiving portogether, said gear operably engaging said first rack means,

an d said pinion operably engaging said second rack means.

tion 74 which receives the upper forward end of lever arms 28 and 30. The forward and rearward interior walls of each of the lever arm receiving portions 74 include an upper inwardly tapering portion 76 and a lower inwardly tapering portion 78. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the upper portion 76 is tapered about 14 from a vertical plane.

The extremity of each of the lever arms 28 and 30 include a cam surface 80 having a rearward curved projection 82, a forward curved projection 84 and an upper projection 86. The forward surface 88 of upper projection 86 is generally fiat and intersects a short flat surface 90 of the forward projection 84 at an angle substantially equal to the angle of the intersection of upper and lower surfaces 76 and 78 of the forward interior wall of the lever arm receiving portion 74.

To cock the firearm, the lever 22 is pivoted counterclockwise about the fixed pivot 24 as shown in FIGURE 1 whereby the lever arms 28 and 30 move the action arms 34 and 36 rearwardly in the firearm to the position shown in FIGURE 3. As the action arms 34 and 36 move rearwardly, the pinions 66 roll on the fixed rack 58 rotating the gear clusters 64 and 65 about their axis. The rotation of the gears 68 is transmitted to the movable racks 18 and whereby the slide arms 10 and 12 and the breech bolt 8 are moved relative to the action arms 34 and 36 in a ratio of gear radius +pinion radius pinion radius In the preferred form of the invention a gear to pinion ratio of 2:1 is used resulting in a 3 :1 travel ratio between the slide arms 10 and 12 and action arms 34 and 36.

Clockwise rotation of the lever 22 returns the breech bolt 8 to the breech closed position shown in FIGURE 1. In this position, the flat surfaces 88 on the cam surfaces 80 of each of the lever arms 28 and are flush with the upper surfaces 76 of the forward interior walls of their respective lever arm receiving portions 74. The short flat surfaces 90 of the forward projections 84 are flush with the lower surfaces 78. This arrangement provides a detent effect ensuring that the breech bolt 8 is held in its completely closed position.

By virtue of the above-described arrangement, a simple and efiicient lever action system is provided whereby a lever is used to transmit forward and rearward axial motion to a breech bolt. Through use of slide arms and action arms operably interconected at their forward end, remote from the receiver, space is available within the receiver for inserting a conventional box magazine. Moreover, the lever member in the above-described system is pivotable about a fixed axis eliminating the need for complex linkages currently needed in multiple pivot lever actions.

While reference has been made above to a specific embodiment of this invention, various modifications and alterations will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of this invention should be ascertained by reference to the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lever action firearm including a breech bolt mounted for axial reciprocal movement in a receiver, a lever for actuating said breech bolt, and a barrel connected to said receiver, the improvement comprising first toothed rack means operably connected to said breech bolt, second toothed rack means fixed to said firearm, gear means operably connected to said lever, said gear means including a first gear operably engaging said first rack means and a second gear operably engaging said second rack means whereby pivotal movement of said lever imparts axial movement to said breech bolt.

2. The firearm of claim 1 wherein said gear means includes at least one gear cluster comprising a gear and a pinion, said gear and pinion being concentrically fixed 3. The firearm of claim 2 wherein the ratio of gear radius to pinion radius is 2:1.

4. The firearm of claim 1 wherein said first rack means is connected to said breech bolt by a pair of slide arms disposed on opposite sides of the interior of said receiver, said first rack means comprises a plurality of teeth on said slide arms adjacent the end thereof and said gear means is connected to said lever by a pair of action arms disposed on opposite sides of the interior of said receiver and extending forwardly therefrom.

5. The firearm of claim 4 wherein said gear means is attached to the end of said action arms remote from said receiver" and includes a pair of gear clusters-rnounted- 7 for rotation about a shaft extending between said action arms, each of said gear clusters including a gear operably connected to said first rack means and a pinion of lesser diameter than said gear concentrically fixed to said gear and operably engaging said second rack means.

6. The firearm of claim 5 wherein said lever has a single fixed pivotal axis.

7. The firearm of claim 5 wherein said second rack means is fixedly secured to said barrel by a support means including a flat planar portion spaced from said fixed rack means toward said barrel.

8. The firearm of claim 7 wherein said slide arms are contained between said fiat planar portion and said gear, said action arms each include an upper flat guide surface in contact with said flat planar portion, said flat planar portion including downwardly extending flanges positioned inwardly of said slide arms, and-said action arms each includes an enlarged portion extending upwardly on'the outside of said slide arms for guiding said slide arms.

9. The firearm of claim 7 wherein said lever includes a pair of lever arms extending upwardly into the receiver in operable engagement with said action arms, each of said action arms having a lever arm receiving portion in engagement with said lever arms, each of said lever arm receiving portions including a forward and rearward internal wall each having an upper inwardly tapering portion and a lower inwardly tapering portion, each of said lever arms having a cam surface for engagement with the internal walls of said lever arm receiving portion, each said carn surface including a rearward curved projection, an upper curved projection, and a forward curved projection, the forward surface of said upper projection being flat and intersecting a flat surface of the forward projection at an angle substantially equal to the angle of the intersection of said upper and lower surfaces of the forward internal wall of each of said lever arm receiving portions.

10. The firearm of claim 9 wherein said upper surfaces of each of said lever arm receiving portions are inclined 14 from a vertical plane.

11. The firearm of claim 1 wherein said first rack means is connected to said breech bolt by at least one slide arm disposed along the side of the interior of said receiver and extending forwardly therefrom, said first rack means comprises a plurality of teeth on said slide arm adjacent the end thereof opposite said breech bolt, and said gear means is connected to said lever by at least one action arm disposed along the side of the interior of said receiver and extending forwardly therefrom.

12. The firearm of claim 11 wherein said gear means is attached to the end of said action arm remote from said receiver and includes at least one gear cluster mounted for rotation about a shaft,'said gear cluster including a gear operably connected to said first rack means and a pinion of lesser diameter than said gear concentrically fixed to said gear and operably engaging said second rack means.

13. The firearm of claim 12 wherein said lever has a le titted p q a ax I 14. The firearm of claim 12 wherein said second rack means is fixedly secured to said barrel.

15. The firearm of claim 14 wherein said lever includes at least one lever arm extending upwardly into the receiver in operable engagement with said action arm, said action arm having a lever arm receiving portion in engagement with said lever arm, said lever arm receiving portion including a forward and rearward internal wall each including an inwardly and downwardly tapering portion, said lever arm having a cam surface for engagement with the internal walls of said lever arm receiving portion, said cam surface including a rearward curved projection and a forward curved projection, said rearward curved projection engaging said rearward internal wall during pivoting of said lever to move the bolt axially rearward and said forward curved projection engaging said forward internal wall during pivoting of said lever to move the bolt axially forward.

16. The firearm of claim 15 wherein each said tapering portion is inclined 14 from a vertical plane.

No references cited.

BENJAMEN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

